22 days to go. new polls and controversy from both campaigns over tuesday's debate. we'll have details ahead. malala to england. the 14-year-old targeted for assassination by the taliban is flown to england this morning. history-making feat. the slowest shuttle trip ever. the fastest human trip ever. and the first man to break the sound barrier does it again 65 years later. very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "first look" on msnbc.

a day before president obama and mitt romney meet for the second of three debates, brand-new poll numbers show the candidates locked in a virtual dead heat. according to a new "washington post" abc news poll of likely voters, 49% favor president obama compared to 46% who back governor romney. those numbers are basically where they were two weeks ago and within the polls' margin of error. however that doesn't mean mitt romney didn't get a big boost from his win. republicans' enthusiasm for their candidate has soared to 59% now, including an 11-point gain in just the past two weeks. both the romney and obama campaigns are expressing concern about the moderator of tuesday's second presidential debate.

candy crowley of cnn will be hosting the debate, and she suggested that she'll play a larger role than agreed to by the candidates. according to mark hallpren of ""time" magazine" the two campaigns have raised objection saying the moderator's participation should be much more limited than she's leading people to believe. crowley has suggested she'll ask follow-up questions, which is not part of the agreed upon format. as the candidates get in their final cram session before tomorrow night's debate, aides say president obama will be more aggressive, and mitt romney's camp says he'll be ready. for details, we go now to nbc's tracie potts. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. aides say that the president has seen the tape of the last debate, that he was disappointed and that he doesn't plan to make the same mistakes again. >> hello, everybody. hello. hole low. >> reporter: president obama taking a break from his weekend debate prep in williamsburg, virginia. >> it is going great.

>> reporter: advisers say expect a more aggressive president obama to challenge mitt romney tomorrow night. >> he's got to be more energetic. i think you'll see somebody who's very passionate about the choice that our country faces. >> we saw governor romney sort of serially walk away from his own proposals and certainly the president's going to be willing to challenge him on it. >> the president can change his style, he can change his tactics. he can't change his record and he can't change his policies. >> reporter: mitt romney's doing debate prep on the road. saturday he was in ohio. >> i need you to get other people who voted for barack obama to come join our team. we need ohio. >> reporter: maybe not. >> he can probably win the presidency without ohio, but i wouldn't want to take the risk. no republican has. >> reporter: romney's done 34 events in ohio since the republican convention, 11 since his last debate, his campaign says they've signed up thousands of volunteers there. polls show president obama's lead in ohio narrowed to just over one point on average, but reuters reports the president's

got a big advantage, 18 points among early voters. and expect more star power on the campaign trail. the boss, bruce springsteen, expected to be campaigning for the president, performing at a campaign appearance in ohio and iowa on thursday. ver ron ni veronica? tracy potts, thank you. a reminder, our coverage of the second presidential debate begins tomorrow night at 9:00 eastern right here on nbc. this is one of the most talked about stories on the planet. fearless felix baumgartner is back after the ultimate leap of faith. on sunday, he became the first sky diver to break the sound barrier, jumping from a balloon 24 miles above the earth, plummeting through the skies at super sonic speeds, reaching 833 miles an hour, or mach 1.24. baumgartner then made a

remarkably smooth landing on his feet in the new mexico desert. unbelievable. that feat came 65 years to the day after chuck jaeger became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound, and sunday jaeger did it again. but now that he's 89, the man known for having the right stuff was merely a passenger onboard an f-15 jet that raced across california's mojave desert. absolutely amazing. here's your "first look" at some other news going on in america today. in florida, dramatic video of a car plow nothing a scrap metal business. luckily it happened in the middle of the night, so no one was around, except for the driver, who could be seen getting out of the car several minutes after the impact. in california, it is finally home sweet home for space shuttle "endeavour." we've sped up this video, take a look.

it was a long, winding and two-mile-per-hour journey through the streets of l.a. this weekend. after soaring above the earth dozens of times, its final trek was just 12 miles long from the l.a. international airport to this museum where it's going to go on display later this month. to new york, it's not as big as that shuttle, but this pumpkin is still pretty cool, right? it's weighing in at 1,300 pounds and won a local contest. and the grower says it's all thanks to hard work, no funny business. and in rhode island, it is official, a map discovered buried in the vault of historical society shows george washington's encampment at valley forge, pennsylvania, could have changed this country's history forever if it had fallen into the hands of the british. the map was rediscovered two years ago during a routine inventory after being donated to the society in the 1940s. and now for a look at the national weather, we go to nbc bill's karins. did you see that pumpkin? >> you need a pizza oven for

those seeds. >> you just got yours, right? >> i was in connecticut this weekend, did a train ride, the pumpkin patch. >> how big? >> wasn't too big. i had to carry two kids and a pumpkin. here's what we're looking at this morning. we had that huge storm over the weekend go through the middle of the country. those saturday football games were a mess and a washout from arkansas up through the great lakes. yesterday that storm lingered up through chicago, michigan. the cold front will push to the eastern seaboard today. out ahead of it, a mild morning. it was warm yesterday up the east coast. very mild once again today. not going to see a lot of sunshine. as the cold front goes through, there's a line of showers and storms with it as we look back towards the midwest, you are clearing out. not a lot of cold air behind the system. expect mild air from kansas city down to oklahoma city. i mention oklahoma city because you had almost three inches of rain this weekend.

one of your biggest rain events of the year. here's some of those showers from pittsburgh to buffalo, also atlanta getting wet now with rain overhead. you will probably have an hour's worth of rain in atlanta. that continues down to montgomery. those are a few areas of rain. the bottom line is from anywhere from 95, new york city, down to virginia, the carolinas, have the umbrella handy. >> thanks, bill. the father of chris stevens speaks out. and what could a u.s. nuclear sub to collide with one of our destroyers? plus from land to water with the push of a button. i know what you're thinking.

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welcome back to "first look." here are some stories making news this morning. the pakistani teenage girl shot in the head last week for

promoting education for girls and criticizing the group in a blog is being flown to great britain this morning. doctors believe malala yousafzai will need prolonged care as she recovers. tomorrow, vice president joe biden will attend the funeral of former pennsylvania senator arlen specter, who died sunday from complications of non-hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of 82. the two were close and often traveled on amtrak together when they were senators. 15 people have died and 200 have shown symptoms of fungal meningitis linked to a steroid. the cdc has published its first case report of the outbreak. you can read all about it on nbcnews.com. the pentagon is investigating what caused the collision of a nuclear sub and a naval cruiser during a training exercise off the east coast this weekend. no one was injured and both ships were able to return to port. the damage is being evaluated. the father of christopher

stevens, the u.s. ambassador killed last month in libya, said it would be abhorrent for his son's death to be politicized. last week the mom of a navy seal asked the president to stop mentioning his name on the campaign trail. in china, nearly 100 spectators were injured when a fireworks display went haywire and shot into the crowd. the cause is being investigated. and now here's your "first look" at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. president obama's campaign said it set a new record of 4 million donors. through august, those who gave less than $200 accounted for 37% of obama donations compared to 18% for mitt romney. a reuters poll found the

president leads romney 59% to 39%. others say younger voters may be the target when president obama makes his second appearance to face political jokes from jon stewart on "the daily show." and bruce springsteen will sing at an obama rally in ohio, and bill clinton will be speaking at the event. supporters of big bird who want to save "sesame street" are planning a million muppets march in washington only three days before the election. and now from the non-scientific file of predicting political winners, reuters reports that based on past elections, if ohio state wins its football game against illinois november 3rd, incumbents including the president could get a small boost on election day, but the opposite effected could happen from sharp attacks reducing votes in states like florida. huh? and saturday night live took

on the vice presidential debate making fun of joe biden's frequent laughs and interruptions and paul ryan's complaint about it. >> i know you're under a lot of duress to make up from lost ground, i think the people would be better served if he didn't keep interrupting. >> you don't scare me, shark eyes. that >> that's your morning dish of politics. and now here's your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow closed at 13,328 after adding two points friday. the s&p was down four. the nasdaq lost five. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei gained 43 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng nudged up 11. stocks turned in their worst performance since early june last week, but a few factors could turn things around this week. today new retail sales figures should be positive after consumer sentiment sparked to a five-year high on friday. key earnings are on deck from heavyweights like ge, part owner of this network, as well as coca-cola, mcdonald's, and microsoft. in deal news, japan's

softbank has reportedly agreed to acquire a majority stake in sprint nextel for $20 billion. the boost to social security benefits could be among the lowest in decades, around 1%, or an estimated $12 to $24 for the typical retiree collecting an average of $1,237 a month. sunland, the new mexico company connected with an ongoing recall of nut butter to include raw and roasted peanuts. amazon kindle owners could see a drop in ebook price and possibly even refunds on past purchases if a judge approves legal settlements of publishers accused of fixing prices. apple has not confirmed the existence of an ipad mini, but according to latest rumors, the device will come in 16 different configurations for around $300 to $650. itunes has a new competition with microsoft's announcement today of a new digital streaming music service for use on x-box

cons consols. xbox music will eventually be available on all windows-based devices. finally, if you have 007 envy, check out this four-wheeler called the quad ski that goes from land to water with the press of a button. soon it can be yours for about $40,000 big ones. more playoff baseball and a lengthy record for the nfl history books. plus, a not ready for primetime appearance by an olympic gold medalist. sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. [ male announcer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates appeal award two years in a row. ♪ check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine.

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welcome back. first to houston for sunday night football. aaron rodgers set a career high and franchise record with six touchdown passes, leading the packers past a previously unbeaten texans 42-24. here's a look at all of sunday's nfl scores. with houston's loss, the atlanta falcons remain the only undefeated team in the nfl with a 23-20 victory over the oakland raiders. in baltimore, jacoby jones tied an nfl record with a 108-yard kickoff return, helping the ravens beat the cowboys 31-29. college football now. alabama and florida top the bcs standings. both 6-0. the crimson tide and gators don't play each other this season, but would meet in the s.e.c. championship game if both remain undefeated. over to baseball. the tigers took a 2-0 series lead over the yankees. a solid performance by pitcher anibal sanchez.

an admitted missed call by an ump at second base notched them a 3-0 victory yesterday. in san francisco, the cardinals hit two homers in a 6-4 victory over the giants, taking game one of the n.l. championship series. "saturday night live" had some fun with paul ryan's exaggerated marathon time. they got a little help from the world's fastest man, usain bolt. check this out. >> please tell him who won the 100 meters. >> i did. >> you did? >> and where did i finish. >> you didn't finish. you weren't even there. >> thank you, usain. >> no problem. now for another look at the weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather forecast. did you see that debate spoof? >> i need to watch that. i'm sure we'll see a lot of clips on it today on "way too early" and "morning joe." as far as the weather is

concerned. if you're leaving the house, take the umbrella with you. you don't need it this morning, but this afternoon there will be some showers and thunderstorms especially from hartford down through connecticut and into areas of new jersey, including new york city and philadelphia. in d.c., you could get showers earlier. the front should make it your way, probably midmorning period. the rest of the country looks just fine. no problems, a few storms possible down in florida. watching showers now in atlanta. but you'll clear out for a nice afternoon. mid 70s, beautiful fall weather through much of the nation. the exception being the northwest. we will get nailed with another heavy batch of rain in the northwest. this is the second rain storm in the last four days. some of those rivers are running high, too. we mentioned the shuttle arriving in l.a. veronica, 87 today. yesterday was also near 90 degrees. a warm fall in the southwest. >> they need to send some of that sunshine our way. >> eventually. your dress is plenty for all of

us today. looks nice. >> thanks. liam beats back ben. and brad pitt analyzes women. your entertainment headlines straight ahead. entertainment remember when you said men are superior drivers? yeah. yeah. then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate safe driving bonus check? what is that? so weird, right?

my agent, tom, said... [ voice of dennis ] ...only allstate sends you a bonus check for every six months you're accident-free... ...but i'm a woman. maybe it's a misprint. does it look like a misprint? ok. what i was trying... [ voice of dennis ] silence. ♪ ask an allstate agent about the safe driving bonus check. are you in good hands? till you finish your vegetables. [ clock ticking ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8. or...try kids boxes!

. joining us now are three peasant laborers from china where these iphones were manufactured. >> and you guys were complaining a lot about the apps, right? that they were loading too slow? >> no, they're wonderful. >> oh, your apps load too slow.

you can't play angry birds? i have an angry bird, too. a chicken tried to steal my lunch. >> okay. the casing scratches very easily. ♪ >> do you mind? i'm going to play sad chinese violin while you complain, and she will perform. please, go ahead. >> i can't really say much after that. >> they can be politically incorrect, but we can't. >> that's right. we can't. let's move on. >> that was pretty good. >> let's move on to entertainment news now. at the box office, ben affleck's "argo" put up a good flight, but it just couldn't dethrone "taken 2." the liam neeson thriller pulled in $22.5 million in its second weekend, while "argo" opened in second place with $20.1 million. and ethan hawk's fright flick "sinister" debuted in third with $18.3 million.

while bill karins favorite movie -- >> i can't help it. >> you think it looks funny? >> yes. >> it's called "here comes the boom" it came in with 12 million. he will fill us in next monday. the "sydney morning herald" reporting that russell crowe and his wife of nine years have separated. the report says crowe's busy film schedule is partly to blame but that the split is amicable. the couple have two sons ages 8 and 6. finally what does brad pitt have in common with marilyn minute row and nicole kidman? >> he's prettier than all of them? >> you may be right. brad pitt is following in all of those women's footsteps as the new face of chanel number 5. pitt is also the first man ever to represent the iconic perfume. he's reportedly being paid -- get this -- seven million bucks for his efforts. >> i think it's time to call him pretty.

>> what do you think of that? men selling women's perfume? >> i guess we'll see what the sales are. a big commitment, millions of dollars. he'll sell it. >> he is easy on the eyes. we'll have to see. >> i'm veronica de la cruz this is "first look" on msnb. stay tuned, "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. have a great monday. two debates within seven days. the first tomorrow as we come up now on three weeks until election day in a race that is as tight as a drum. the question is, can mitt romney get a winning electoral map if he loses the state of ohio? felix baum ggarner goes to